Laparoscopes are surgical instruments through which anatomical structures in the abdomen and pelvis can be viewed by a surgeon. Laparoscopic surgery has become increasingly popular in recent years because it eliminates the need to cut a large surgical incision in a patient. This reduces patient recovery time and discomfort as well as the deleterious side effects associated with major surgery. In a laparoscopic surgical procedure, a small incision is initially cut in the abdominal wall of the patient to facilitate insertion of the laparoscope into the patient's abdomen or pelvis. Cannula sleeves can be inserted into the same incision or an adjacent incision or incisions to serve as entry ports for the extension of probes and other laparoscopic surgical instruments into the abdomen or pelvis. Laparoscopic surgery can be used to repair or remove internal tissues or organs as well as to aid in diagnostics since the contents of the abdomen or pelvis, including such anatomical structures as the fallopian tubes, ovaries, uterus, small and large intestines, appendix, liver and gallbladder, for example, can be viewed through the laparoscope.
A typical laparoscope includes a housing. An elongated lens shalt extends from one end of the housing, and a lens is provided in the distal end of the lens shaft. A camera viewfinder extends from the other end of the housing. A camera is connected to the housing and transmits images sighted through the lens to a television monitor on which the images are displayed. During a surgical procedure, the distal end portion of the lens shaft is extended into an incision in the patient's abdominal wall, while the proximal end portion of the lens shaft, the housing and the camera viewfinder remain outside the patient. One of the limitations of conventional laparoscopes is that the laparoscope lens frequently contacts and is obscured by blood, tissue and other matter during a laparoscopic surgical procedure. This adversely affects the quality of the images displayed on the television monitor.